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Mental Mapping Komiza

Mental Mapping Komiza

When I was asked to write these passage it seems such a long time ago when I came back from Komiza in September 2013 and on the other hand , I realize that I still draw from the experiences I made there. The AdriArt Workshop in Komiza had a great impact on me.

Being there was about constantly learning new things, constantly exposing new worlds , getting to know different situations with different people and to break new ground without fear and doubt.

As I made my way to Vis in Croatia I knew little of what will happen to me . And in fact I never knew it during the workshop .

The aim was to give the best every day, to try again and again in always different ways, to use the time intensively, and by the way not to forget that life should be a pleasure , and that everyone should especially appreciate the last sunlight of the summer.

I have learned that everyone should stand up for his ideas and to defend them, but also that ideas may simply be thrown overboard to create new thoughts. And that it is very difficult to find a balance between all of that.

It was inspiring and very valuable to meet with so many new people from different countries and universities, all of them individualists, driven by similar ideas and beliefs. And everyone is pushing and motivating each other, all to give their best at least.

Excerpt from my Work in Komiza

(I really love to see satellite pictures)

when someone tells me about his travels, or when i read the newspapers about any kind of conflicts going on, i always want to see a map.

that’s a reason why I love to use google maps, I look up the cities and countries, I love to see the satellite pictures, I look at woods and deserts, I see houses and cars, and then I start to image how it would be being there. and suddenly I have something like a connection.

this connection is even bigger when I have been to some of the places before, when I met people from there and listened to their stories. suddenly the newspaper information is getting more real, more personal.

(suddenly I am a part of all these stories)

nowadays all world is connected with the internet and different kinds of networks, in cyberspace you can go everywhere. with google maps I am walking around in the African desert or I try to see pirates near the Somalia coast. I can see the destroyed houses in Syria or the refugee camps in Libya.

how is it if you have to leave home because of war? or because you are not able to earn enough money to feed your family? how is it living far away from your parents and siblings? I can visit my brother all the time, we can hang out, or have dinner with our mom…

(but I am not that good in geography at all)

that’s why I like to draw mental maps, because for me this maps seems more true than the real geographical ones. my maps are connected with stories and references. some places I see with my mental eye even if I have never been there. but I have friends there and I know their stories. i try to see with their eyes and feel with their minds every time I read a newspaper article. and then I can read more than just facts, I read in humans destinies.

(or the stories becoming part of me)

certainly there is always my story in addition, for the reason that I get part of all these narratives while listening to it.

maps are always about distance and destinations, and I tried to create a big picture with komiza as it center and all the stories and ways around. all this stories open ways to the whole world.